UNIT 2

popular clique

A close-knit group of friends who are admired by the other pupils, it is hard to get into their group
ex: she might not be the part of the ____ but she has a couple of good friends.

sullen

bad-tempered and sulky
s: gloomy, surly,
ex: as he grew up, he became ___ and rude, to the point where is own friends do not want to hang out with him.

fly into a rage

to suddenly become very angry
ex: he ________, kicking the door when his parents refused to let him stay over at his friends house.

stunned

very surprised and unable to move or react
s: shocked, astonished
ex: she stared at him _____ after he told her he had cheated on her.

outburst

a sudden release of strong emotion
s: explosion, fit
ex: the accusation elicited angry _____ from the prime minister.

curt

abruptly and rudely short
s: clipped, snappy
ex: his answers were ___ not to let me get closer to the real problem.

begrudging

given reluctantly or resentfully
s: resentfully, reluctantly
ex: he answered _____, looking away from me.

steely expression

Unfriendly/unemotional expression
ex: his _____ was to keep the conversation from moving closer to the problem.

wary

feeling or showing caution about possible dangers or problems
s: careful, cautious
ex: dogs which have been mistreated often remain very ____ of strangers

well up

to have tears come to the surface of your eyes and are about to flow out
ex: her eyes ____ as she reminisced about her late mother.

unversed in

unfamiliar with, not practised at
ex: people _____ financial matters often have problems doing taxes.

subtlety

distinction that is not obvious
s: distinction, nuance
ex: All the ____ of the music are conveyed in this new recording.

ill-prepared

badly or wrongly prepared
ex: his light clothing left him ____ for the rain.

amplify

to make larger, louder, or more powerful
s: expand, enlarge, boost, increase
ex: new evidence ____ the public interest in the case.

prompt

to encourage
ex: she _____ her timid daughter to stand up for herself.

impose

force (an unwelcome decision or ruling) on someone
s: enforce, inflict
ex: the decision was theirs and was not ___ on them by others.

forgone conclusion

an obvious outcome; a result which can be predicted in advance
ex: Because of the home team's superior defence, it was a ____ that they would win.

diminish

make or become less
s: decrease, decline
ex: with this medicine, the pain should ____ soon.

come to grips with

to make an effort to understand and deal with a problem or situation
ex: the committee has failed to _____ the problem of school bullying.

autonomy

independence, freedom
ex: every person has their own ___, and they can do whatever they was to do as long as it is legal.

introspective

reflective; inward looking; given to self-examination
s: thoughtful, pensive
ex: There were a lot of family problems and Jim became increasingly _____

snappy

irritable and inclined to speak sharply; snappish:
s: curt, snarky
ex: the questioning made her ___ and nervous.

overseer

person who supervises a large operation or its workers
s: supervisor, manager
ex: As the nation's regulatory ____, he could advance, delay, or cancel major initiatives.

supervisor

a person who supervises a person or an activity.
ex: be sure to choose a _____ that will suit well with your master's topic.

marker

a person who assesses the standard of a test or examination
ex: the aim of the _____ is to help the student do better next time.

don

a university teacher, especially a senior member of a college at Oxford or Cambridge
ex: his brother was a ____ at New College.

dean

an administrator in charge of a division of a university or college
ex: He was appointed _____ of the faculty of theology at London University.

referee

a person willing to testify in writing about the character or ability of someone, especially an applicant for a job
ex: the subject of a bad reference can sue the ____ for libel.

arbitrator

an independent person or body officially appointed to settle a dispute
ex: the facts of the case are put to an independent _____.

assessor

a person who evaluates the quality of a person or thing
ex: the ____ interviews the candidates and observes them actually using the language.

prefect

(in some schools) a senior pupil who is authorized to enforce discipline

novice

a person new to and inexperienced in a job or situation
s: beginner, rookie
ex: he was a complete ____ in foreign affairs.

trainee

a person who is being taught how to do a particular job
ex: he spent 8 years being a ____, before finally debuting as main vocalist in a group.

junior

low or lower in rank or status
ex: part of my function is to supervise those _____ to me.

houseman

a male or female doctor who is still training, and who works in a hospital

apprentice

a person who is learning a trade from a skilled employer, having agreed to work for a fixed period at low wages

ex: they work with several _____ each year who help contribute to the success of the

undergraduate

a university student who has not yet received a first degree
ex: they were just a a group of Oxford ______.

post-graduate

relating to or denoting a course of study undertaken after completing a first degree

nursery school

a school for children between the ages of about two and five
ex: she sent her daughter to ____ before going to work.

entrant

a person or group that enters or takes part in something
ex: the prize will be awarded to the ____ who wins the tiebreak

crash course

a course in which you learn a lot about a particular subject in a very short period of time
ex: taking care of his sister's children was a _____ in parenting for him.

hold a degree

to have a degree
ex: I _____ in translation studies.

school leaver

a young person who is about to leave or has just left secondary school
ex: ______ are having trouble finding jobs.

correspondence course

a course of study in which you study at home, receiving, and sending off work by post, email, etc.
ex: She took a _____ in world religions.

expel a student

to send a student away from school
ex: the headmaster _____ for bullying.

attend classes

to go to classes
ex: he was reprimanded for failing to ____.

play truant

to skip classes
ex: children who regularly _____ are likely to drop out of school.

drop out of school

stop attending (school)
ex: children who play truant are likely to _____.

wholesale

in large quantity
ex: nursing training has been moved ____ from hospitals to universities.

accustomed to sth

used to sth
ex: I'm not _____ getting up so early.

acquainted with sb/sth

familiar; having personal knowledge of
ex: She was well ______ classical literature.

bear with sb

to be patient with sb
ex: please, _____ for a second.

coincide with sth

happen at the same time as sth else
ex: I timed my holiday to _____ the children's.

differ with sb

disagree with sb
ex: I _____ Bill about our bike club's budget.

engaged to sb

having formally agreed to marry
ex: she in _____ her high school sweetheart Tom and is planning to marry him next spring.

friendly to a cause

there is a reason behind our friendship

allocate

to distribute
s: assign, allot
ex: in past years we didn't _____ enough funds to infrastructure maintenance

ridicule

unkind words or actions that make someone or something look stupid
ex: She was treated with scorn and ____ by her colleagues when she applied for the job

patient with sb

having patience
ex: please, be ____ him, he is just two years old.

plead with sb

to beg
ex: he ____ not to leave him.

resort to sth

to do something that you do not want to do because you cannot find any other way of achieving something
ex: Officials fear that extremists may _____ violence.

unequal to sth

not have the necessary skill to achieve sth
ex: The country is in such disorder that a successor may be _____ the task of putting it right.

succumb to sth

to ​lose the ​determination to ​oppose something; to ​accept ​defeat
ex: Gina _____ temptation and had a second serving of cake.

by means of

with the help of; by using
ex: This is a two year course taught ____ lectures and seminars

at one's request

due to having been asked
ex: No photographs of the girl were printed, ____ of her family.

by popular request

because a lot of people have asked for it
ex: The series was repeated by ______.

by luck

by chance; luckily
ex: he passed the exam ____

at all costs

whatever it takes
ex: Security during the president's visit must be maintained ___.

by virtue of

because of, thanks to, on account of
ex: They were excluded from voting ____ being too young.

burn the midnight oil

stay up late
ex: he has been ______ recently preparing for final exams.

living on a shoestring

managing on little money
ex: he has been _______ since he became a full time student.

down-and-out

homeless person
ex: she has been living _____ since she lost her job.

suss out

to solve
ex: i just cannot ____ this calculus problem.

in the same league

as good as
ex: he is just not _____ as his peers.

bookworm

avid reader
ex: sandra is a real ____, she can read more than 30 books a month.

come forward

volunteer for a task or to give evidence
ex: the police are asking witnesses to _____

come about

to happen, or start to happen
ex : how did the problem _____ in the first place?

come in for

receive criticism, blame
ex: the government _____ a lot of criticism after the revelations.

come across

find by chance
ex: she ______ her grandmother's ring while looking for an old book in the attic.

come into

to inherit
ex: after his uncle died, Ben ______ a lot of money.

call for

to require
ex: everyone agreed that the matter _____ immediate measures.

call off

to cancel
ex: the match was ___ due to heavy rain.

call into question

to cause doubts about something
ex: the recent poor examination results _____ of today's education.

come into light

to be revealed
ex: the truth about the missing exam papers ___ at the enquiry

no call for

no reason
ex: there is _____ screaming like that.

come into force

to come into effect
ex: the new examination regulation will _____ next month.

subvert

overturn or overthrow from the foundation; undermine
ex: the parents decided to homeschool us to ____ the schools authority.

nurture

to help a plan or a person to develop and be successful
ex: As a record company executive, his job is to _____ young talent.

tactile

relating to the sense of touch
ex: vocal and visual signals become less important as ____ signals intensify.

overestimate

an estimate that is greater than the exact answer
ex: you should not ______ the importance of digital readers.

engrossed

completely occupied or absorbed
ex: those who are ____ in their studies have better grades.

all walks of life

all social, economic, and ethnic groups
ex: universities have to encourage students from ______ to join their courses.

bursary

a grant, especially one awarded to someone to enable them to study at university or college.
s: scholarship
ex: he got a ____ to be able to attend the university.

eligible

having the right to do or obtain something; satisfying the appropriate conditions
s: entitled, qualified
ex: customers who are ______ for discounts

perceived

to have taken in mind; observed/ understood
ex: I ____ her as a good teacher until she yelled at that poor kid for no apparent reason.

condescending

treating people as weak or inferior
s: patronising,
ex: she does not appreciate ____ remarks about her position.

backroom staff

the members of staff who work out of public view
ex: the ______ always works the hardest.

diminutive

very small
ex: she was _____ as a diminutive part of their company.

dizzying heights

very high level
ex: I escalated to the ____ of director's secretary.

whingeing

complain persistently and in a peevish or irritating way
s: complain, whine
ex: after ____ for years, I finally got promoted!